3,598 Hectares Of Rice Granary Land Converted For Development From 2021 To 2025 - KPKM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- A total of 3,598 hectares of land within Malaysia’s rice granary areas were converted for development between 2021 and 2025, contributing to the loss of agricultural land and potentially affecting the country’s padi and rice production.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Chan Foong Hin said the conversions involved various types of development, including housing, railway projects, commercial areas and public facilities such as schools and homestays, as well as other economic activities.

He said that although state-level zoning measures had been implemented to protect agricultural land, including rice granary areas, these measures had not been sufficient to prevent the loss of padi field acreage.

“This situation particularly concerns privately owned land, which is subject to the state government’s processes and deliberations regarding land-use conversion.

“In this regard, the gazetting of padi field areas as protected zones is a crucial measure that warrants attention to ensure that the total area dedicated to padi cultivation is maintained,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

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PARLIAMENT-PADI 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

Chan was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (PH-Port Dickson) on the decline in agricultural land and the government’s efforts to protect strategic padi cultivation areas to safeguard the nation’s rice supply.

He stressed that protecting padi fields was essential to maintaining domestic production capacity, strengthening the agrifood sector and enhancing national food security.

Meanwhile, responding to a supplementary question from Dr Abd Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun) on financial incentives for state governments that preserve productive padi cultivation areas, Chan said the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security had an established mechanism under the National Agrifood Empowerment Programme (PPAN).

He said the federal government allocated RM300 million annually for the programme, which was based on cooperation between the federal and state governments.

Through this mechanism, state governments could propose priority areas for padi-related programmes, including initiatives to address compensation for states that preserve strategic agricultural land.

On efforts to expand padi cultivation, Chan said 14,000 hectares of land had been identified in Sarawak as part of an initiative to increase the state’s rice self-sufficiency level to 60 per cent by 2030.

-- BERNAMA